For one or two people, Asana is the cleaner personal task manager. For a small team that thinks in boards, monday.com is the easier shared tool. If more than two people need to join before anyone pays, neither free plan works: use ClickUp.
Cost for the same team
Yearly prices checked September 28, 2026. ClickUp: clickup.com/pricing. monday.com: monday.com/pricing (paid plans from 3 seats, then buckets of 5; yearly is 18% off monthly). Asana: asana.com/pricing (Personal is free for 2 users; Starter $10.99 and Advanced $24.99 per user per month billed yearly; seats are sold in bundles). Trello: trello.com/pricing (Standard $5, Premium $10 per user per month billed yearly).
Asana vs monday.com
 Asana |  monday.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Personal, 2 users, unlimited tasks | 2 seats, 3 boards, 3 docs |
| First paid plan | Starter, $10.99 / user yearly | Basic, $9 / seat yearly, from 3 seats |
| Gantt / timeline | Starter | Standard, $12 / seat |
| Guests | Unlimited free guests on Starter | Guest access on Standard |
| How it feels | Clean tasks, projects and teams | Colorful boards, like a spreadsheet |
| Seat billing | Bundles (2–5 exact, then steps of 5) | Buckets (3, then multiples of 5) |
Asana's interface is still one of the calmest in this category, and the free plan includes 100+ integrations. It is a weak free choice for a team of five, because person number three requires Starter. monday.com has the same cliff at person number three, then bills a minimum of 3 seats.
What each free plan leaves out
Asana Personal gives two people unlimited tasks and projects, list, board and calendar views, unlimited storage (100 MB per file), status updates and 100+ free integrations. It has no timeline or Gantt view, no start dates, no task dependencies, no forms, no custom fields and no rules. It is a shared to-do list, not a schedule.
monday.com Free gives two seats 3 boards, 3 docs, 200+ templates, 8 column types and the mobile apps. Items are capped until Basic. Automations, timeline, Gantt and guests start on Standard. It is a small but real board tool.
If you need dates and dependencies for free, neither works. The free project planner on this site has a timeline with no account, and ClickUp's free plan includes Gantt as trial uses.
Paid plans, level by level
| Asana | monday.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry team plan | Starter, $10.99 yearly ($13.49 monthly) | Standard, $12 yearly |
| Timeline and Gantt | Starter | Standard |
| Automations | Unlimited rules on Starter | 250 actions / month on Standard, 25,000 on Pro |
| Custom fields | Starter | Columns on every plan (8 types on Free) |
| Guests | Unlimited free guests on Starter | Guest access from Standard |
| Native time tracking | Advanced, $24.99 | Pro, $19 |
| Dependencies | Starter | Advanced columns on Pro |
| Goals and portfolios | Advanced | Portfolio management on Enterprise |
| Approvals and proofing | Advanced | Not listed |
On features per dollar, Asana Starter is the stronger entry plan: unlimited rules, forms, custom fields and dependencies for $10.99. monday.com Standard is the easier board, with a 250-action automation cap. At the next level the order flips. monday.com Pro at $19 includes time tracking and 25,000 automation actions, while Asana puts time tracking on Advanced at $24.99.
Cost by team size
Yearly billing. Asana sells 2 to 5 seats exactly, then steps of 5 up to 30. monday.com sells 3 seats, then multiples of 5.
| Team | Asana Starter ($10.99) | monday.com Standard ($12) | Asana Advanced ($24.99) | monday.com Pro ($19) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 people | $263.76 | $432 (3 seats billed) | $599.76 | $684 (3 seats billed) |
| 3 people | $395.64 | $432 | $899.64 | $684 |
| 4 people | $527.52 | $720 (5 seats billed) | $1,199.52 | $1,140 (5 seats billed) |
| 6 people | $1,318.80 (10 seats billed) | $1,440 (10 seats billed) | $2,998.80 (10 seats billed) | $2,280 (10 seats billed) |
| 8 people | $1,318.80 (10 seats billed) | $1,440 (10 seats billed) | $2,998.80 (10 seats billed) | $2,280 (10 seats billed) |
| 12 people | $1,978.20 (15 seats billed) | $2,160 (15 seats billed) | $4,498.20 (15 seats billed) | $3,420 (15 seats billed) |
| 20 people | $2,637.60 | $2,880 | $5,997.60 | $4,560 |
| 30 people | $3,956.40 | $4,320 | $8,996.40 | $6,840 |
Asana Startermonday.com Standardmonday.com ProAsana AdvancedSmall teams are where the rules differ. At 4 people, Asana Starter is $527.52 a year and monday.com Standard is $720, because monday.com bills 5 seats. From 6 to 30 people both round to the same multiple of 5, and monday.com Standard costs about 9% more than Asana Starter.
Billing, refunds and discounts
- Asana does not refund. Its pricing FAQ says so. A cancelled plan keeps paid features until the end of the period, then you lose them and the data tied to them.
- monday.com upgrades you automatically when you exceed your seat bucket, after a 5-day warning. You can revert within 30 days once the extra users are removed.
- Asana can upgrade a single team instead of the whole organization, if only that team needs premium features.
- Both offer nonprofit discounts. Asana applies it to yearly Starter and Advanced plans.
ClickUp is the third option that avoids that cliff: unlimited members on Free Forever, then $7 per user on Unlimited. Details on ClickUp vs Asana and ClickUp pricing.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Is Asana or monday.com better for a small team?
monday.com, once you are more than two people. Asana's free Personal plan stops at 2 users. monday.com's free plan also stops at 2 seats, but Standard at $12 per seat adds a timeline, and the boards are easier for a non-technical team than Asana's project model.
Which is cheaper?
Asana Starter is $10.99 per user per month billed yearly. monday.com Standard, the plan with a Gantt view, is $12 per seat billed yearly. Both round seats up: Asana past 5 users, monday.com past 3. From 6 to 30 people they land on the same seat count, and monday.com Standard costs about 9% more.
Which has more automations?
Asana. Starter includes unlimited rules. monday.com Standard includes 250 automation actions a month; Pro raises that to 25,000.
Does Asana give refunds?
No. Asana's pricing FAQ says it does not offer refunds. If you cancel, paid features stay until the end of the subscription period. After that you lose access to them and to the data tied to those features.
Which has the better free plan?
Neither is generous. Both free plans cover 2 people. ClickUp's Free Forever plan does not cap members, which is why it is the better free option if the team is larger than two.
Does Asana or monday.com include a Gantt chart for free?
No. Asana puts Timeline and Gantt on Starter. monday.com puts them on Standard. Both free plans are list and board tools.